God Bless America

Growing up and still today, I believe that America is amazing and a great force for good. As far as countries are concerned, America is still the greatest force for good in the world. America is good and people are good. We must believe this principle. We cannot give up hope. People are on the whole good. We can disagree, but at the end of the day we are all God's children. We must trust that God will deliver us to better times where people more fully trust in each other. We must believe that God's children will love one another. We must believe that God will continue Bless America.....

Isn't that a phenomenal song by the way....

Let's look at this brilliant song and what it means for us today, line by line. We will just go over the chorus in this manner although the whole song is fantastic.

God Bless America
God bless this great country and these people that are free. Help us to make wise decisions.

Land That I Love
I/We love America. It is the greatest country on the Earth. It's freedoms are spectacular and there are absolutely wonderful people here.

Stand Beside Her
Stand beside this country and help those in this country to make good choices. We know that if we glorify you and turn to you that this nation will be a force for good. We know that if we turn away from you that we can easily lose our way.

And Guide Her
Guide our decisions. Show us a path that leads towards your glory. Help us to use our consciences and look out for other people.

Through the Night
Guide us at all times especially when we can't see correctly. There are many people in this country currently that can't see things properly. Please help them to see that all people are good.

With the Light from Above
Use your incredible light and power to show us the way. Show us especially in the dark times. Show us with that light how many wonderful people there are. Allow us to always see the positive.

From the Mountains
Bless us in the highest places and in our greatest moments

To the Prairies
Bless us in our open places and in our middling moments

To the Oceans White With Foam
Bless us in the water, bless our turbulent moments, bless the creatures in the seas, bless our ability to notice your great creations in tremendous detail. Let us appreciate these great things in nature you provide.

God Bless America
Thank you for blessing this country and continue to do so

My Home Sweet Home
This is the home that you have chosen for me. Help me to be thankful for you choosing such a tremendous place for me to live. Help me to realize that there is a reason you have chosen me to live in this place at this time, with these people. Help me to be thnakful for that and realize my purpose.

That is kind of how I think of it anyway! There is a reason we live here at this time and we should be thankful for it. Always try to remember and focus on the good people. Remember that God has blessed and will continue to bless the United States of America.

-Noland

Autographs @ Disney World & Tips On How To Get Certain Characters

If you have been following this blog, or even if you have a pulse, you realize that Disney World is a magical place. It is a place where adults can feel like children and children can feel like royalty. The park just seems to be a cut above. Everything about the park and the experience involved with it is special. Part of that special experience for children often involves character interactions and autographs. Getting the characters to acknowledge them is magical for the children. The character taking time to sign is incredibly spectacular for the kids.

I was not sure my oldest son would be able to appreciate autographs yet, so we were planning on holding off on them. Boy was I wrong. We started an allowance system with him shortly before we got passes again. The 1st thing that he bought with his own $$$$ was.....a character autograph book. He loves that book and adores getting signatures. He also has/had a very specific pattern he wanted to get their signatures in Mickey Mouse, then Goofy, and so on....we try to cross a few off each time so that he can enjoy these interactions and make it a point of emphasis before we go. So I thought we wouldshare some of those tips with our readers......

Tips for autographs and where characters currently are in the parks

Aladdin

Aladdin meets @ Frontier Land in Magic Kingdom and in Morocco @ Epcot
I have never been to either meet as my children aren't that into Aladdin, but maybe someday soon. I have not seen long lines for Aladdin during any visit. I know that Aladdin meets with Abu during the Not So Scary Halloween Party and Very Merry Christmas Parties. If we do one of those, we might try to meet Aladdin.

Alice

Alice meets @ Mad Tea Party Early in the Morning
By noon Alice is gone so go in the morning to meet her. She also meets @ 1900 Park Fare Character Breakfast. Haven't meet Alice yet, but we will be doing the character breakfast in the next year and can give an update at that point.

Anna and Elsa

Meet @ The Frozen Section in the Norway Pavilion @ Epcot
Lines will be extremely long. Book Fastpass+ if available.

Army Men

Meet Outside Toy Story Mania! @ Hollywood Studios
Expect Little to No Wait!

Baloo

Meets @ Upcountry Landing @ Animal Kingdom
Expect a wait between 5-20 min. One of our favorite meet and greets

Bolt
Meets near the Great Movie Ride @ Hollywood Studios
This is a newer meet and greet, but lines aren't too bad. Not sure why Bolt is meeting of all characters, seems like a waste of a meet to me....

Baymax
Meets @ Character Spot West in Epcot
Does not Sign

Buzz Lightyear
Meets next to Buzz Lightyear Ride in Tomorrowland of Magic Kingdom
Great meet with waits typically under 20 min.
Also Meets w/ Woody Across From Toy Story Mania!
A meet that is always packed and I haven't seen less than 30 min
Note: Buzz Lightyear stamps and does not sign

Chewbacca
Meets @ Star Wars Launch Bay @ Hollywood Studios
I have typically seen wait times around 20 minutes when I have been

Chip n' Dale

Meet in all 4 parks
In Tomorrow @ MK
At Rafiki Planet Watch @ AK
Great Movie Ride @ HS
Land Pavilion @ Epcot
Also Features in Several Character Breakfasts
None of the lines are too long
I personally prefer the Animal Kingdom meet and the Magic Kingdom meet
We had no wait @ Magic Kingdom last time!

Daisy Duck
Meets in all 4 Parks
Meets @ AK Character Breakfast
Character Landing @ AK
Pete's Silly Sideshow @ MK
World Showcase Pavilion @ Epcot
Great Movie Ride CY @ HS

Doc McStuffins
Meets in Disney Jr. Courtyard @ Hollywood Studios
Lines are not long

Donald Duck
Meets in All 4 Parks
Pete's Silly Sideshow @ MK
Cretaceous Trail @ AK
Great Movie Ride @ HS
Mexico Pavilion @ Epcot
Also Meets @ Several Character Breakfasts
Some of the lines get long, but nothing too bad typically.
We prefer the Mexican Pavilion or a character breakfast.

Doug and Russell
Meet in Animal Kingdom
We don't like Up so we skip this meet and are unsure of lines.

Eeyore
Only available for meet @ Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom.
Also available @ Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and Very Merry Christmas Party

Flik
Started this year meeting across from Discovery Trail in Animal Kingdom
We have yet to participate in this meet, but will at some point in the future. Lines aren't long.

Gaston
Meets near Gaston's Tavern in Magic Kingdom
Lines vary throughout the day. However, they have gotten long and we have been turned away before because they are too long.

Goofy
Meets in All 4 Parks
Dinoland USA @ AK
Pete's Silly Sideshow @ MK
Movie Ride CY @ HS
Character Spot @ Epcot
Character Spot is longest wait time, but is short early in morning. Others are not bad waits.
Also meets @ Several Character Breakfasts

Jack Skellington
Meets @ Halloween & Christmas Parties
This is one of the most popular meets @ those parties

Jake
Meets in Disney Jr. Courtyard @ Hollywood Studios
Lines are not long
Also appears @ Hollywood and Vine Character Dining

Jasmine
Jasmine meets @ Frontier Land in Magic Kingdom and in Morocco @ Epcot
I have never been to either meet as my children aren't that into Aladdin, but maybe someday soon. I have not seen long lines for Jasmine during any visit. I know that Jasmine meets with Genie during the Not So Scary Halloween Party and Very Merry Christmas Parties. If we do one of those, we might try to meet Aladdin and/or Jasmine.
Jasmine also appears at Cinderella's Royal Table Character Dining and Akershus Character Dining

Jessie
Appears w/ Woody in Frontierland in Magic Kingdom
Lines can get long best to arrive just before 10am when their 1st set starts

Jiminy Cricket
Appears @  Animal Kingdom for Earth Day

Joy and Sadness
The Inside Out characters meet @ Character Spot West near Baymax
Lines can get long, but are short early in the day

King Louie
Meets @ Upcountry Landing @ Animal Kingdom
Expect a wait between 5-20 min. One of our favorite meet and greets
King Louie does not sign autographs, but there are rumors that Baloo does sign

Kylo Ren
Meets @ Star Wars Launch Bay in Hollywood Studios
Personally not a fan of this character, but the times I have seen posted are <30 min

Lilo
Meets @ The Great Movie Ride CY in Hollywood Studios
Also Meets @ Ohana Character Breakfast
Both meets are fantastic and I'd recommend them. I would assume the HS meet is short term, but Ohana will likely stay.

Mad Hatter

Mad Hatter meets @ Mad Tea Party Early in the Morning
By noon Mad Hatter is gone so go in the morning to meet him. He also meets @ 1900 Park Fare Character Breakfast. Haven't meet Hatter yet, but we will be doing the character breakfast in the next year and can give an update at that point.

Mary Poppins
Meets @ Magic Kingdom Fireworks Viewing Plaza

Also Appears @ 1900 Park Fare Character Breakfast
Again with boys typically skip this

Max

Not a regular meet, but often seen @ Hollywood Studios in the Summer Time

Mickey Mouse
Meets @ All 4 Parks with Fastpass+ Available for most
I'd recommend getting the Fastpass for most meets. Talking MM appears only @ Magic Kingdom. However, he does not always talk. Still, I'd recommend possibly meeting him @ Magic or Epcot depending on line. Hollywood Studios is the only park that does not offer Fastpass to meet Mickey, but the line is typically pretty short. Epcot is a short wait in the morning and Goofy and Minnie are right next to him at this meet.
Also appears at many character breakfasts.

Minnie Mouse
Meets @ All 4 Parks
I'd recommend Epcot meet, but Magic Kingdom meet has a short line
Mickey and Minnie are also typically available at the Disney Visa Special Meet @ Epcot.
Character Breakfast Opportunities also available.
The most chances to meet any characters are the mouses and Pluto.
Here my son is w/ main four @ Epcot. This is where he got these 4 to sign!

Olaf
Meets in Hollywood Studios
I'd assume the lines are long, but he started meeting this summer and we haven't been

Peter Pan

Meets in Magic Kingdom by his ride
Lines are long!!!!

Piglet
Appears @ Crystal Palace Character Breakfast
Occasionally appears @ 1900 Park Fare
Occasionally Appears @ Pooh's Thotful Spot

Pluto
Meets @ All 4 Parks
Longest wait is Main Street Flagpole in Magic Kingdom. Shortest Wait is typically Dinoland  USA in Animal Kingdom with Goofy.
Also appears at just about every character breakfast.
Pro Tip: Pluto cant see past his nose and has to sign close up to his eyes. Be careful when handing him the pen/marker. He marked up a page in Jr.'s book accidently.

Pocahontas
Appears @ Discovery Island in Animal Kingdom
Typically a fairly short wait

Princesses

There are two princess character dining experiences, Cinderella's Royal Table in Magic Kingdom and Akersaus in the Norway Pavilion @ Epcot
There is also a Princess Fairytale Hall meet with Fastpass+ in Magic Kingdom

Rafiki
Jr.'s favorite person to meet thus far
Meets @ Rafiki's Planet Watch in Animal Kingdom
Meets in Frontierland in Magic Kingdom
Expect short lines in Magic Kingdom

 Hugs

 More Hugs

 w/ Rafiki

 Posing

The Autograph

Scrooge McDuck

Uncle Scrooge appears with Donald @ the Christmas Party

Stitch

Appears @ Magic Kingdom Flag Pole (Long Wait)
Appears in Great Movie Ride CY (Unknown Wait, Temp Spot)
Appears @ Ohana Character Breakfast (Great Opportunity)

Tarzan

Meets in Animal Kingdom

Tigger

Meets @ Pooh's Thotful Spot (lines can get long)
Meets @ Crystal Palace Character Dining
Meets @ 1900 Park Fare Character Dining

Tigger w/ mommy and Eli

Winnie the Pooh

Meets @ Pooh's Thotful Spot (lines can get long)
Meets @ Crystal Palace Character Dining
Meets @ 1900 Park Fare Character Dining

Eli meeting his favorite w/ mommy

Woody
Meets w/ Jessie in Frontierland @ Magic Kingdom
Meets w/ Buzz @ Hollywood Studios Across from Toy Story Mania!
Lines can get long for both meets. Especially @ Hollywood Studios. I hope they offer Fastpass+ for the HS meet soon!

More Opportunities
There are random character meets at Hollywood Studios (called Character Palooza) and Epcot (called Training Meets). Locations and times are unknown, but hopefully you can run into these. They are super neat.

-Noland

Naples Zoo

This week, ZooZoo Review, gives you a look at one of the zoos at the southern end of our great state.
Naples Zoo

Naples, FL

Date of Visit: March 5, 2016

Highlights: So many highlights at this awesome zoo! The top one was certainly the honey badgers! The Naples Zoo was 1 of only 4 accredited zoos in the United States to have honey badgers and I had never seen them before this visit. Unfortunately, the pictures against the glass were not so great, but they were awesome. There were also awesome hyena, sweet cheetah, tiger, leopard, and lion exhibits and so much more. There was an incredible variety of exhibits and each exhibit was well planned out.

Disappointments: No big theme to the zoo, everything was just kind of there. Cool exhibits, but I kept feeling like I missed something because the overall park had no plan as far as organized areas. Also the lack of pictures of the honey badger.

Additional Tips: If you plan on going on the primate cruise, get there early. The line was too long and we ended up passing because we did not wish to wait for the cruise.

Pictures

Picture with an inflatable giraffe toy of NoNo

Lots of Alligators

Best friend and son with giraffe

Best friend and his mom @ zoo

Anteater!

Giraffe!

He loved that giraffe!

Giraffe toy and giraffe in background

My family + my best friend in front of the giraffe!

Bestie and son in front of giraffes

Jenna and the baby holding a stuffed honey badger!

Overall Rating: 
4.5 out of 5 elephants

The only thing keeping this from a 5 was the lack of theming at the zoo. The exhibits and variety of animals were excellent. Major bonus points for being one of only 4 zoos in the country with honey badgers. Those things were so cool! I was super glad we got to go here and we will be back at some point to go back to this tremendous zoo.

-Noland

Disney's Assault on Fatherhood

My first mistake was reading comments online. The mistake was made though and I caught myself reading the statement which seemed to get endless support...

"Disney always makes the dad look like the buffoon, Disney is assaulting fatherhood and the role of the father. We need to boycott Disney."

Despite, my ideas about boycotting and my love of pretty much everything Disney, I really wanted to explore the idea, just to see if it held any merit and to see if I have been looking at the company through pixie-dust covered glasses.

Here is what I found and began to think.....

Every Disney movie does have a story and a theme. Certainly, the same is true about the shows, and the THEME Parks. These themes though rarely have to do with the family unit as the central theme. I would argue though that Disney is a company for families and that the park was built for any type of family. However, we are not there yet, let's break it down piece by piece and see any place that this notion could have come from. I really wanted to see if there was any merit and either help debunk or prove the seemingly popular statement.

First, let's start with the movies as that is some people's first and only exposure to the world of Disney. Through my looking back, I noticed that dads in Disney movies are typically treated as better than they are in pop culture. Throughout pop culture, dads are treated as useless buffoons often, but in many Disney movies it seems to be the exact opposite.

Marlin in Finding Nemo is actually the star of the movie. He tracks across the entire ocean in order to find his son. Despite being worried about something happening to Nemo due to a baraccuda killing his family, Marlin protects Nemo and when Nemo is taken, Marlin does whatever he can to get Nemo back. Marlin is the hero of the tale. This clownfish shows courage and has many ideal qualities of what it means to be a dad and the protector of your family unit.

Another one of my favorite movies with a dad character is Pinocchio. During that movie, Gepetto did not have any children, but he kept wishing and praying for one. Eventually, he got Pinocchio as his little boy. He was so joyful, happy, and thankful for having this boy brought into his life. When Pinocchio went missing, just like Marlin did, Gepetto stopped at nothing to find Pinocchio. This movie showed a dad that truly cared for his son. Its central themes were to follow your conscience and dream big. Do the right thing and dream big is what the movie focused on. Seems to me this would be a fantastic movie to show your kids.

Finally, let's look at the Lion King and everything that is involved with that franchise. The wise dad here was Mufasa. Simba's dad taught him all the important things in life and always looked out for him. He eventually died trying to save his son. However, his spirit and memory lived on as he continued to give advice to Simba and help Simba reach his destiny. Now, he occasionally gives Kion advice in the Lion Guard series. Mufasa could be said to be the wisest of all the characters. Despite, not being around anymore, Disney has kept an important role for him. Mufasa is one of the best known characters in all of Disney and nobody thinks of him as a buffoon. Everyone thinks of Mufasa as Simba's wise father.

There are other examples in movies. More fathers and father figures, but after the three I focused on, I realized that it was not even close to true that Disney made dads to look like fools in all movies, but could I find any examples....

The closest I got to finding a dad that was a fool in these movies were The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast. Those are three of Disney's big movies, and the dads were somewhat foolish in each. The Little Mermaid though involved the dad having incredible power and keeping his teenage daughter away from a cruel world. King Triton was not really foolish in that he understood the world being far different and he wanted to protect his daughter that was not legal. He even lets her chase her love at the end of the movie and helps save his daughter from the evil Ursula.

The saltan was Jasmine's dad in the movie Aladdin. He was made to be more of a foolish character, but it was one movie and even here, he was hypnotized by Jafar's staff for a large portion of the movie. That hypnotism added to the perceived foolishness of his character.

Finally, Beauty and the Beast. Belle's dad was deemed a fool largely in part because he told of a Beast off in the forest. Belle proved her father right when she showed the people of the Beast. Dad was an inventor in this and some of the inventions worked pretty well. This all is not to mention that like the two other dads (Saltan and King Triton) he was a single dad that raised a strong independent woman on his own. There is something to be said for them not raising trainwrecks as just the dad. Many popular media outlets would not give that message, that Disney seemed to invoke.

So if not in movies, then what about in television?

Disney owns ABC, so I sure that there are cases of the dad being a buffoon on ABC, just as there are on any channel. My suggestion with this is that if the show is trash, don't watch it. I don't watch any shows that I think are complete filth. I encourage you to do the same. I do not have any specific examples of the dad being a buffoon in these shows because as I said a minute ago, I don't watch shows that are garbage. I don't watch shows that send awful messages like that, at least that I can think of off the top of my head. The only two shows on ABC that I do watch are The Middle and Last Man Standing. I really enjoy the dads in those shows. Those dads are the best TV dads since the Home Improvement days.

Finally, what about Disney Parks?
Well, I feel I am always treated very well at Disney World. I rarely have a poor experience. This resort has the best customer service in the world. As a dad, I am treated just as magically as anybody else. The people are helpful and they do anything they can to help my family routinely. They make the experience magical for my whole family. Making reservations is a piece of cake. Making plans is easy as pie. This place allows me to plan ahead so that I can help make my kids memories to last a lifetime. Disney World makes it easy to be a dad that is even more loved and even more appreciated.

My family with my favorite Jiminy Cricket

My family with Minnie @ Character Breakfast

My 3 year old gets to meet lots of characters

 We get to meet Eeyore

And look around every corner for something special

My kids love Disney World. My kids love Disney period. I will not boycott Disney because of a few buffoons who spew hate on the internet. Boycotting is typically stupid anyways. Disney does not have an assault on fatherhood. Some people just are unable to see the big picture. The big picture that Disney is a wonderful company that does a lot of good and encourages kids to dream. I like the world that they provide. I am sorry that some are not able to love and appreciate it. However, I do appreciate living in a free country where people can have different opinions and perspectives. I also appreciate that my family does Disney.

-Noland

Thank You God For Eli Thomas

Thank you God for the continuous blessings you give our family. 

Thank you especially for our wonderful boys.

Today, I thank you especially for our happy sweet Eli!

A year ago yesterday, you blessed us with a sweet baby boy. This boy is our 2nd child you have blessed us with.

Little did we know at the time, how different he would be from the first.

He is so much smaller and so much more delicate than his brother, but you gave us another joyful child.

You gave us a boy that is always smiling, unless there is something truly wrong. 

You gave us a boy that lights up the room.

You gave us a boy that has made our hearts grow. 

We are so grateful.

I don't know why we deserve this love.

I don't know why we deserve this child.

I feel like we don't.

However, thank you for choosing us to be his parents.

Help us to be the best parents we can be.

Help us to be the best parents for these children.

Help us to love him as much as he loves us.

Help our hearts to continue to grow with love.

Help us to guide him as his parents.

Help lead us on this journey of being these awesome kids parents.

Thank you for continuing to watch over him.

Thank you for continuing to keep him safe.

Thank you for being patient with us on the many occasions he has been sick.

Thank you for time and time again answering our prayers that he be okay.

If you could make his pain a little less and make him sick less frequently, we'd appreciate it.

We are thankful though that you continue to lead us through and on the other side.

Help us to always appreciate the blessings and not focus on him being sick.

Help to continue to lead him through.

Thank you for always making him better.

Thank you for always leading us through.

We don't deserve these kids to be so amazing. 

We don't deserve anything.

You have chosen us and blessed us.

We are grateful for these blessings.

We are thankful for Eli.

Thank you God and please continue to bless this family.

Amen

Here are pictures of our sweet baby through his first year! Happy Birthday Eli!

At Birth

2 days later

After Baptism

With the man he's named after @ 5 months

5 months old with big bro

6 months old

9 months old

Always Smiling

Riding with his best bud

Doing the warchant going into the college football HOF 2 weeks ago

- Noland